News & Views

Our budget for 2017 includes a goal of at least $50,000 from individuals and co-ops. Thanks to Mississippi Market, we made a huge leap forward in October with their Positive Change program contribution of $9,763.84 to support work with local, organic and sustainable farmers.

Small food co-ops sometimes struggle with isolation as well as gaining adequate sales and resources to develop local leadership. That was the case for Whole Earth Grocery Co-op in River Falls, WI before board member Madeline Kuizek and staff member Anna Zalusky reached out to CDS and others for governance and operational support.

It might seem early for a “year in review”, but our fiscal
year ended on August 31, so we’re both looking back at what we’ve accomplished
AND looking forward to opportunities for increased impact in the year ahead.

At our November 15 Annual Meeting in Stevens Point WI, the
CDS board will receive both an “Ends Report” from me, describing the results we
have had this past year, and an independent auditor’s review of our finances.
Both will be used in the Annual Report to be completed and posted to our
website in January.

Promoting a national vision for cross-sector cooperation,
while holding tight to a grassroots emphasis on co-op development, is quite a
balancing act. Dennis Johnson, a 2016
inductee into the Cooperative Hall of Fame, has built his career on creating
alliances that allow cooperative solutions to take root and thrive.

With support from foundations and donors like you, CDS has
taken on the challenge of urban development, and in 2015 initiated projects in
the Riverwest
neighborhood of Milwaukee, Northeast Minneapolis, and several
neighborhoods in St. Paul.

On November 7, 2015, almost 100 members and managers from 34
small and start-up co-ops from WI, MN, MI, IA and ND gathered at the inaugural
Small And Strong Conference at Normandale Community College in Minneapolis. The
annual conference is only one part of a package of support being created by a
team of co-op organizations including
Northcountry Cooperative Foundation, Shared Capital Cooperative, UW Center for
Cooperatives, and Land Stewardship Project, and sponsored by CDS Consulting
Co-op, the CHS Foundation, and the Cooperative Foundation. Commitments are already in place for a
2016 conference, and a 4-5 session webinar series; we’re still developing
funding for a cost-share program for individualized technical assistance, and a
peer support network, all to be put in place in 2016.

Cooperative
Development Services has completed a case study of the cooperative food system
in the Twin Cities with particular focus on this as a local foods system
operating at scale. Authored by Joan Stockinger of CDS and Dave Gutknecht of
Cooperative Grocer magazine, the full study is available for download in PDF
format. CDS
and the authors are available to discuss the findings of the study with
interested cooperatives, co-op related groups, and local foods groups.Contact us atinfo@cdsus.coop with inquiries.

January 3, 2013 - Two generations of the Van der Pol family operate Pastures a Plenty, a value-added pork business in Kerkhoven MN. From 2010-12, CDS assisted the Van der Pols with business planning to expand their operation; we also assisted them in obtaining funding to implement their business plan through USDA's Value-Added Producer Grant program.

November 20, 2012 CDS has always been fortunate to have board members provide vision and leadership, and who embody cooperative values. Bob Bauman was a CDS board member, representing rural electric co-ops, in the 1990s during a period of great growth. We are pleased to note his most recent honor: Induction into the Iowa Cooperative Hall of Fame.

November 2, 2012 - USDA Rural Development today announced that Cooperative Development Services will receive a $175,000 grant to assist in the establishment of rural cooperatives and businesses in the Upper Midwest. Read more in the news release attached.

Testimonials

"CDS is the go-to trusted organization in
Minnesota and the Upper Midwest for business planning, feasibility studies,
marketing plans and other services needed for the long-term success of our
rural cooperatives. We consistently refer clients to CDS for business
development assistance with full confidence that they will receive personalized
and objective support."

- Dr. Mary Hanks, Minnesota Department of Agriculture

CDS is a nonprofit organization created and governed by the cooperative community of the Upper Midwest.